* Who was the last Persian Emperor?
* Why was Persian Empire fallen and turned to the Persian Kingdom?
* What historical lesson have we learned from the fall of the Persian Empire?

Once you finish reading these 4-part historical series, you will learn much which has been hidden form you, and you will get your answers! At the end of the series, I will give you the answer to these questions.

I am here to set the records straight and for the first time in history, tell the true story of the Last Persian Emperor!

Two Persian historical characters are the most condemned by the popular history of the so-called historians and most hated by the uninformed public. In reality, these two characters are the ones whom Iran and Iranians owe them their existence! If it wasn’t for these two characters, Iran of today in its present form would have not existed! One of these characters is Reza Shah the Great of Pahlavi (1925 - 1941) and the other one is Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar (1794 - 1797).

An interesting fact is that both of them were from Mazandaran, Reza Shah from Alasht And Aqa Mohammad Shah from Astarabad (Gorgan) which back then was a part of Mazandaran and has always been a part of Mazandaran until IRI created the Province of Golestan and made it the capital of Golestan! So, both Reza Khan and Aqa Khan are Mazandarani!

Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar Mobile Golden Throne
Aqa Khani Throne: Lion Arms, Gold Enamel, Hand Crafted, Mobile Throne
Aqa Mohammad Khan was a simple man with simple needs. Unlike biased lies so-called historians told about him, he did not live or liked a life of luxury nor did he roll around in the royal jewels as a hobby! He did not even own a large size steady throne. He ordered aids to carry this throne everywhere he travelled because he was always on the move, conducting military campaigns and leading charge in military battles. Historical Liars (Mainstream Historians) connect the famous Persian Thrones to him but the reality is that the “Sun Peacock Throne”, “Naderi Throne” and the “Marble Thorne” were all built by Fath Ali Shah Qajar, his nephew and earl. Fath Ali Shah Qajar on the contrary was Master of Luxurious Lifestyle! Fath Ali Shah was primarily (like his uncle) a warrior (during Aqa Khan’s reign); however, during his own reign, he had become soft, living a life of luxury with 1000 wives! He lost his toughness and edge. That is why the Persian Empire declined and turned to the Persian Kingdom during his reign!

Reza Shah the Great was the architect of the modern Iran and Father of the Nation. Aqa Mohammad Shah was the last Persian Emperor (Shahanshah), after him, Iran was no more an empire but a kingdom and the kings (Shahs) ruled it. Aqa Mohammad Khan fought tooth and nail to save the integrity of Iran (Persian Colonial Empire). In his short reign, he made Iran glorious, powerful, well organized and orderly. Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar was the savior of Iran. Both of them took control when Iran was literally disintegrating and collapsing. Both of them worked hard and made Iran great again. If it was not because of their hard work and sacrifices, Iran of today, would have not existed and there would be no such people as Persians (Iranians). Instead of a united nation, Iran would have been disintegrated as a collection of independent separate nations.

Both of these characters are condemned and hated inside Iran but at least Reza Shah is somewhat respected outside Iran, yet Aqa Khan is hated even outside Iran. The reason for these hatreds is the False History published everywhere due to spite and the uninformed public who reads them. This biased historical narrative goes generation to generation like dogma and no one questions it!

Everything you may think you know about Reza Khan and Aqa Khan is a lie! The public is misinformed and in the dark. Throughout the history, false historical lies and biased narratives have been prepared and provided for you both in Imperial Iran and Islamic Republic of Iran. Monarchists and Muslims are the greatest ideological and natural liars in the world! They tell you the Traditionally Biased and Fabricated History. I, on the other hand look at the history as an evolving science. I observe the history with a scientific perspective. As a scientist, I am a scientific historian. I deal with factual and logical evolving history. I am here to take away the obscuring clouds and unveil the true history for you. The history has never been told in this manner for you!

By writing this history, by no means I am here to defend neither Absolutist Monarchy or Constitutional Monarchy as a form of government. As a matter of fact, the most perfect form of the Absolutist Monarchy (Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar) and the most perfect form of the Constitutionalist Monarchy (Ahmad Shah Qajar) has already experimented in Iran (by Qajar Dynasty) and while they were fruitful during their reigns, yet due to dysfunctionality of the nature of Monarchy, they did not last. Aqa Khan’s Empire did not last because his descendants were not worthy and Ahmad Shah’s Kingdom did not last because his regime was rotten to the core. That is the nature of Monarchy. The system of Monarchy in Iran does not work and that is the fact.

So, I am not here to defend Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar and Reza Shah Pahlavi. I am here as a scientific historian to tell the Real Story of these two historical characters and display to the readers the true history of Iran which they have been deprived of! I am only a story teller, a fair judge of history. I will tell you the real story and you will make your judgement upon the true history. At the end of this document, I will get back to this subject and expand on the Dysfunctionality of the Monarchial System.

Traditional History (by majority) is the boring and biased narrative propaganda written in the old books by so-called old historians. Throughout the decades and centuries, many of these baseless unsubstantiated stories become history and transfer from generation to generation as documented facts!

Online False History is basically the online version of the Traditional History which both are biased talking point narratives. Online history is basically opinion, estimation and popular belief.

* Opinion is the opinion of these so-called modern historians which are based upon the same old traditional history of the traditional historians piling up much unsubstantiated narratives and nonsense.

* Estimation is how they connect unrelated events and dates, also incoherent paragraphs to create a history.

* Popular Belief is the false narrative transferred from generation to generation as the traditional history by the biased so-called traditional historians.

A few so-called historians gather and write incoherent, gibberish and frantic paragraphs online which in many cases does not even read well (Wikipedia). These false information and fake history move on from Encyclopedia Iranica, Encyclopedia Britannica and others to the Wikipedia which is an open source and anyone with 2 sources can write history in it! What if those 2 sources are also false?! Then the false information moves on to Google and Search Engines and there, they become documented facts! Then you punch in Google and ask a question? In return you get opinion, estimation and popular belief gathered from Wikipedia which Wikipedia itself gathered from Britannica and Iranica which they all rooted as False History and Fake News! This is how Fake News becomes Documented History in Google! The mighty Evolution of the False History!

As the results, you go research a historical character and you will see that the major dates (birth, reign, death, events) are wrong, names are wrong, flag designs are wrong, even the nature of events are wrong! So naturally the complete narrative about a historical character becomes wrong!

So next time someone tells you to Google this or that (as a fact), tell them that I don’t Google anything (because it’s fiction) but I online research to seek “Facts”! The funny thing is that even now, Google gets much of its Persian history from IPC!

Another popular group is the historical history thieves who directly “copy / paste” my writings, my maps, my uniforms, my flags, my images and my graphic designs from IPC to their sites! Sometimes they “copy / paste” word by word and sometimes they revise my paragraphs a bit to look original but you can tell they are fake because their spell / grammar, punctuations, and even English writing is flawed, simply because they are neither writers nor historians, yet they are illiterate thieves of my books, series and articles! Go around the Internet and you can observe various Iranian or Non-Iranian sites duplicating my material without naming the source. You can easily tell that they are my material because no one on Internet writes like me or creates images and graphics like me, unless they write for IPC and they duplicate my format because it is appetizing and I allowed them. People just love my style! In general, people love to “Copy / paste” my material! Are you asking why? The answer is simple:

I have already allowed all to use my work legally and as they please, but if you have to be a thief, then when you steal my work, at least name the source because historians and history lovers can easily recognize my work, you cannot fool the people. After all, Internet is a small place and the history circa is a smaller place than that!

Qajar Persian Imperial Military Handmade Order of Lion and Sun Jewel Insignia
Persian Colonial Empire Late 18 Century – Early 19 Century

Scientific History

I do not look at the history as dead old texts, infallible truth, unchangeable dogma and words of the wise which must be transferred from generation to generation as the facts.

I look at the history as an “Evolving Science” which improves and evolves by discovering more and more ancient facts and new discoveries. Change is the keyword for the living and evolving history as a science. A Scientific Historian researches with the latest methods of research, experimentation and critical thinking to separate the facts from the fiction and to get to the bottom of the truth.

I am a Scientific Historian who deals with Logic and Scientific Method rather than Opinion, Estimation and Popular Belief! I go back to the original sources. I have a vast hard copy library of out of print books from the authors and historians who lived the history. I research from these books, I research from valid Internet sources, and I use the scientific method to write the history as a science.

Writing history is an art. Otherwise anyone can put together a bundle of incoherent paragraphs, boring to read without any creativity; therefore, no one bothers to read them except a few stuck up boring so-called historians in their so-called scholarly circa!

I don’t write history for the anally retentive college professors and Arrogant scholars to debate amongst themselves! I write history for massive number of students, youth and lovers of history with never ending thirst to read exciting history. I make history exciting.

I write history with passion. I’m a story teller. I tell my stories with lively heartbeat in them which makes people, specifically youth to continue reading until the end. I polish my stories with colorful pictures, creative graphics, fine maps and detailed flags. I search for graphics and I create a great number of them. I write history as a thriller graphic novel full of life and passion. This is why there is huge demand for the way I write history versus the boring online frantic and fake history which gives the readers constipation!

One of the main reasons which IPC was created and evolved as the largest Iranian website on the net was to transform the historical knowledge and the Persian Culture to the next generation of the enthusiastic youth. I created the proper mass information tool (IPC) and I am the story teller. That is why the youth gets hooked on IPC Iran History. Even the majority of the people who hate history and geography, they love reading them in IPC because it is exciting, colorful, well designed, well formatted and fun to read.

In other words, as a scientific historian that is why I am Ahreeman and these Bozos are not! You be the judge!

While Persians inside Iran (due to brainwash) both during the Pahlavi Imperial Iran and IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) bash and mock Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar, Azeris and Turkmens (outside Iran) celebrate Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar as a national hero! It is all fine and dandy to respect and value Aqa Khan for what he did for Iran but then the false logic starts and the Azerbaijan Republic and Turkmenistan Republic claim that they are independent nations with their own national identity and Aqa Mohammad Khan was an Azeri or Turkmen emperor and even the Qajar Dynasty was their own. Then they speak of the Great Azerbaijan (Azim Azerbaijan) and Great Turkmenistan (Azim Turkmenistan) which at one time ruled the Iranian Plateau! Each of these Ex Iranian states and present fabricated independent nations claim the nationality of their own!

Allow me to clarify an important historical fact for all. Until about 250 years ago, the complete Iranian Plateau was under one Iran, a united Iran including Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Parts of Pakistan (Baluchestan Half), Parts of Kazakhstan, Parts of Kyrgyzstan, and Parts of Iraq (Mesopotamia).

Next, the Russians and the British separated all of these Iranian States from the Motherland and included them as parts of their empires. Eventually, in later years they granted them independence and fabricated them as independent nations!

There is no Afghan identity. Afghanistan was 2 states of Iran (Ariana and Bakhtar).

There is no Azeri identity. Azerbaijan (both internal and external) was a state of Iran (Atropatgan).

There is no Baluch identity. Baluchestan (both internal and external) was a state of Iran.

There is no Kurdish identity. Almost the complete Kurdistan (in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey) was a state of Iran.

There is no Ahvazi or Khuzestani Arab identity, Khuzestan is a state of Iran.

There is no Turkmen identity. The Turkmenistan (both internal and external) was a state of Iran.

Every single country with “Istan” at the end of its name is a fabricated state and independent nation which were fabricated by the Russian and the British Imperialism to separate the states of Iran from the motherland!

Of course, they do not teach you these historical facts in your classrooms in these nations, but they teach you false dogma and fake history.

Kurds, Azeris, Georgians, Armenians, Khuzestanis, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Baluchis, Afghans, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Iraqis, Bahrainis, and so on, you do not have a national identity. The Russians and the British have fabricated one for you! The only national identity which you have is the Iranian Identity. You are all Iranian. The only reason that presently you are independent nations is because the Russians and the British Imperialism separated you from Iran, put an “Istan” at the end of your state and voila, they created all of these “Istan” fabricated countries!

Your wise scholars, professors and elders are perfectly aware of this fact but they are all afraid to speak of it or teach you the true history. They are afraid of your little state governments. Their policy is to teach you lies. That is what they do in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and so on. Your professors from around the Ex States of Iran are in touch with me and all of them openly state to me that they are aware of the fact that they are all Iranians but they are afraid to even say it in the public set aside to teach it in the universities, because if they do, then surely they will lose their jobs, become blacklisted and possibly get arrested. Azeri, Turkmen, Afghan and so on professors, they all tell me the same story: they must continue teaching lies or they will be blackballed by their state governments!

These cheesy little states and wanna be independent nations are not real nations. They are fabricated nations and even the governments who run them, know that their only identity is the Iranian Identity. No matter how hard they try to claim that they are Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Baluch, and so on, there is one identity that they share and that is the Iranian Identity.

You may speak Turkish but you are not Turks.
You may speak Arabic but you are not Arabs.
And so on …

This is due to the centuries of Turkish and Arab Imperialism which invaded and occupied your lands; therefore, you are Turkic tongued and Arabic tongued but you are not Turks nor Arabs.

In the future, all of these present little fabricated independent nations (ex-states of Iran) will join together and recreate the “Persian Empire” or the “Iranian Union” or whatever you want to call it because on their own, they are economically, militaristically, and politically irrelevant. Together they are a giant but separately they are nothing!

That is what Russians and British do: Divide and Conquer! That is what Russians and British done to Iran and the Persian Empire. So, stop creating your own fictional national identity because all of you are Iranian. You have no independent national identity because each and every single one of you are Iranian. The only nationalism for you is the Iranian Nationalism.

In the future “Iranian Federal Union”, each of you will have one state, one vote, and all of you will have equal rights because separated, we are nothing but together we are Gods, the sky is the limit and we shall be glorious. Iranian Plateau Under One Iran.

We have different Turkic dialects and Turkic people: Turkish, Azeri, Turkmen, Uzbek, Kazakh (and Cossack), Kyrgyz, Mongolian and so on.

Note 1: Notice that by majority, Azeri Iranians and Arab Iranians are Turkic and Arab tonged but not actually Turks and Arabs. Azeri Iranians are Turkic Tonged because of the centuries of being under the occupation of Turks. Arab Iranians are Arab tonged because of the centuries of being under the occupation of Arabs. So, basically Azeris are not racially Turks but Turkic speaking people, the same way, Khuzestani Arabs are not Arabs but Arabic speaking people.

Roots of Turks goes back to Mongolia and they were originally yellow skinned Orientals. Turks have been migrated via Genghis Khan invasion of the Asia and the Persian Empire. Turks migrated originally from Central Asia towards the west. They settled in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and so on.

Note 1: Notice that Azeri people of Azerbaijan are mostly Persian and not Turk, but they speak Turkish due to the Turkic occupation and imperialism.

Note 2: Notice that Kazakhs are people of Kazakhstan but Cossacks are people of Southern Russia (Caucasia) and Eastern Ukraine, yet both Kazakhs and Cossacks are by popularity known as Cossacks because even though they are separate people yet by majority they have the same racial and cultural roots. Their migration roots were from Mongolia to Central Asia to East Europe and their racial roots are Turkic and Slav.

Originally, Turkic people came with Mongols and settled in Central Asia, Iran and Turkey (Iranian Plateau or Greater Iran). These Mongol rooted Turkic people were basically divided in various branches. The Turkmens were a significant branch. Two important branches of the original Turkmens were “Aq Qoyunlou” [White Sheep Turkmens] (1403 - 1497) who Reigned in Eastern Iran and “Qara Qoyunlou” [Black Sheep Turkmens] (1389 - 1469) who Reigned in Western Iran. Timur Lang (1380 - 1405), the Turkmen Persian ruler was in alliance with Aq Qoyunlou and gave them lands in Diar-e Bakr (present day north Syria, north west Iraq and east Turkey). Timur Lang was fighting with Qara Qoyunlou and defeated them, so naturally he did not give them any land; however, in later dates they captured land on their own.

Qajar were a Turkic Tribe. Qajar roots (like all Turks) goes back to the Yellow Skin Turkic tribes of Mongolia. Mongols were the original Turks. Qajar Tribe was originally a Turkmen Tribe. Through Migration they came from Central Asia to Iran.

Qajar Tribe were originally of the Oquz Turks who were of the Ashaqeh Bash Sub Branch of the Aqa Qoyunlou Branch of the Turkmen Turks.

Aq Qoyunlou => Ashaqeh Bash => Qajar

Qajar came to Iran with Genghis Khan (1220 - 1227), during the Mongol Invasion of the Persian Empire (13th Century). They migrated from Central Asia to the West and then to Syria.

During the 7 years Turkmen Invasion of the Persia by Amir Timur Lang (1380 - 1405) and Timurid Dynasty, the Qajar migrated back to the east and landed around Ganja, Azerbaijan (Ganjeh) and Yerevan, Armenia (Irvan).

Shah Ismael I Safavid (1501 - 1524) entered a great number of Qajars into his special forces “The Qizilbash” (Red Heads). The Qizilbash were originally a Militia Group who ended up becoming the Safavid Special Forces Units. Qajar Tribal Leaders during the Safavids, had become very important. They become Military Commanders, Governors and Ambassadors. During Shah Abbas the Great of Safavid (1587 - 1629), Qajar have become elite and very powerful.

Qajars settled in various provinces of Iran. For instance, we have now:

Qajars of Tehran
Qajars of Qazvin
Qajars of Azerbaijan
Qajars of Golestan
Qajars of Kermanshah
And so on …

I recall that during the Pahlavi Era, at Southern Iran in provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan and Bushehr where the people are Dark Mix, Indian Mix, and Blacks, they were referring to the government people from Tehran as Qajars. This term was stuck with them in their lingo since the Qajar Era. The reason was that people up north from Tehran were foreign to them and they were so white that they were calling them Qajar. So, they refer to white people as Qajars. That is quite a change for Qajars of the Pahlavi Era being White Aryans from the Qajars of 13th Century being Yellow Skin Orientals!

You can conclude that through the centuries, Qajars have become well Persianized!

Fath Ali Khan Qajar
During the Afghan Invasion of Iran, Fath Ali Khan Qajar was a military commander and joined forces with Shah Tahmasb II Safavid (1722 - 1732). In later years he was killed by Nader Shah Afshar (1736 - 1747).

Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar
After the death of Fath Ali Khan Qajar, his son Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar become the tribal leader. During the Nader Shah the Great of Afshar’s reign, he was on constant run and was living incognito. He was rebelling against Nader Shah and after Nader’s death, he claimed rulership of Iran. He ended up fighting a 3-year battle with Karim Khan Zand (1750 - 1779). Finally, Mohammad Hassan Khan lost the battle to Karim Khan and was killed by Karim Khan Zand. Mohammad Hassan Khan was father of Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan Jahansouz (father of Fath Ali Shah Qajar).

What makes the reign of Aqa Khan important is that he is the last Persian Emperor. While during his reign, he kept the integrity of the Persian Colonial Empire and made it strong and powerful, yet after him, the Persian Empire had become the Persian Kingdom.

By mistake or due to respect, some people refer to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as “Shahanshah”. Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar was the last “Shahanshah” of Iran. After him, Iran was no more an Empire (Persian Colonial Empire) and had become the Iranian Kingdom (Persian Kingdom); therefore, all the rulers after him are technically Shahs and not Shahanshahs.

Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar was the founder of Qajar Dynasty (1794 - 1925). Aqa Mohammad Khan was a Qajar Aristocrat and Tribal Leader (same as grandfather and father). Aqa Mohammad Khan was born in Astarabad (Today’s Gorgan) on 1742. Aqa Khan was the eldest son of his father Mohammad Hassan Khan. His reign was after Lotf Ali Khan Zand (1789 - 1794). His grandfather was Fath Ali Khan Qajar. His father was Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar and his mother was Jeyran Khanum, the Queen Mother. His prime minister (Grand Vazir) was Haji Ebrahim Shirazi. Roots of Aqa Khan were:

Aq Qoyunlou => Ashaqeh Bash => Qajar

From 1789 (Rule Date) Aqa Khan ruled a great number of provinces of Iran; however, his official reign date was 1794 (Reign Date) when Lotf Ali Khan Zand’s reign was officially over. He was crowned on 1796.

Fath Ali Khan Qajar (Aqa Khan’s Grandfather) was in cahoots with Shah Tahmasb II of Safavid and he had become a major commander. Nader Shah’s uprising against Safavids, caused him to murder Fath Ali Khan Qajar (competition), so he could reign Iran. Until Nader Shah was alive, the Qajars could not accomplish anything; furthermore, Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar his son was on the run.

After Nader’s death, Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar established a base in Astarabad (Gorgan). He even defeated Ahmad Khan Abdali and Azad Khan Afghan. Next, he captured Azerbaijan. After Nader Shah, his nephew Ali Qoli Shah-e Adel [The Fair] (1747 - 1748) famed by the title of “Adel Shah Afshar” reigned. Adel Shah battled Qajar and defeated them in Mazandaran. He captured Mohammad Hassan Khan’s sons (small children) Hossein Qoli Khan Jahansouz and Aqa Mohammad Khan. Adel Shah Afshar ordered to castrate Aqa Mohammad Khan when he was a small child. Since then, Aqa Mohammad Khan become a Eunuch. In old times they used to castrate foes to not procreate and to become obedient servants or Harem Guards. Castration makes one weak, feminine, obedient and servant-like. Adel Shah castrated Aqa Khan, so he could not become the future Shah. On the contrary, castration made Aqa Khan to try hard to defy the laws of nature and to prove himself to be worthy of becoming a Shah! That is why Aqa Khan had a chip on his shoulder for all his life!

Eventually Adel Shah was overthrown and blinded by his brother Ebrahim Mirza whom was also later on overthrown and blinded by the Afshar Elites who brought Shahrokh (Nader’s Grandson) to power. Afshar Elites sent the blinded Adel Shah to Mashhad in chains. They tortured and killed him there. That was Adel Shah’s end, a poetic justice for castrating Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar!

Enemies of Aqa Mohammad Khan and Qajars, mock Aqa Khan by misspelling his name as a Eunuch. In Persian, Aqa means Sir; however, if you spell “Aqa” with a certain different “Q” (Qayn instead of Qaf) then it means Eunuch. These imbeciles assume that by identity politics and character assassination, they can destroy the legacy of Aqa Khan by mocking him as a Eunuch! The reality is that Aqa Khan had more “Balls” than all of these coward imbeciles. Aqa Khan had more balls than a nation load of Big Balled Persian Warriors!

Note:Q in Persian sounds as “Gh” (a guttery strong R). It sounds like “r” of “Merci” in French. This sound does not exist in English.

After Nader’s death, chaos ruled Iran. As I mentioned the rivalry between Adel Shah and Ebrahim Mirza Afshar on one side, then the Afghan Invasion by Ahmad Shah Durrani from Qandahar and Azad Khan Afghan and indeed Zand Dynasty’s claim for the Persian Throne created quite a chaos in Iran.

Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar had to fight all of these fractions to win the Persian Throne! He was successful against everyone and he fought Karim Khan Zand for 3 years; however, he was finally defeated and betrayed by his own tribe.

Qajar Persian Imperial Military Handmade Qomqomeh Flask
Late 18 Century – Early 19 Century

Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar was the major archrival of Karim Khan Zand and a block on his way to capture the Persian Throne. Mohammad Hassan Khan fought and defeated Afghans and captured Azerbaijan. His base was Mazandaran and his headquarter was Astarabad (Gorgan). Mohammad Hassan Khan rushed to Esfahan and took over the town. Next, he moved towards Shiraz with 30,000 men army. Siege of Shiraz lasted long. Sheikh Ali Khan Zand, the Zand Commander put up a great defense and Shirazi people embraced Karim Khan Zand. The villages near Shiraz, burned all the hey crops and supplies so they would not surrender them to Qajars. The siege of Shiraz lasted long, so the Qajar troops abandoned positions. Mohammad Hassan Khan had to break the siege.

Karim Khan Zand broke out of Shiraz, entered Esfahan and captured the vicinity. Mohammad Hassan Khan escaped to Mazandaran where Sheikh Ali Khan Zand chased him. Division between Qajars started and an old rival betrayed Mohammad Hassan Khan. While retreating from Sheikh Ali Khan Zand, he fell off the horse but the rival traitor beheaded him. Sheikh Ali Khan Zand sent the head of Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar to Karim Khan Zand. Karim Khan was respectful to the head and the body, so he ordered to put them together, wash them with rose water and burry them together in Astarabad.

After Mohammad Hassan Khan’s death, The Qajar elites had chosen Hossein Qoli Khan Jahansouz (younger brother) rather than Aqa Mohammad Khan (older brother) as the tribal leader! They done this because Aqa Khan was a Eunuch! In their eyes, Aqa Khan was not qualified to become the leader (because he was ball-less)! This event was the 2nd most important blow to Aqa Khan’s psyche! First, Adel Shah Afshar castrated him as a child and now the tribe undermined him because of the castration!

Karim Khan step by step took control of Iran. Qajar brothers were on the run for about a year until Aqa Mohammad Khan made an attack on his hometown of Astarabad and failed. Eventually Aqa Mohammad Khan was captured and sent to Tehran and a while later, so was Hossein Qoli Khan Jahansouz. Brothers were now prisoners of Karim Khan Zand.

Qajar Persian Imperial Guard General (left) and Imperial Guard Officer (right)
Late 18 Century – Early 19 Century

Both brothers were residents of Tehran and then Shiraz. Later on, Karim Khan allowed Hossein Qoli Khan Jahansouz to become the governor of Damqan, Semnan. In a way he trusted him to govern but also, he kept him away from Shiraz. Hossein Qoli Khan started a riot in Damqan. Karim Khan sent his commander Zaki Khan to Damqan to silence the riot. Hossein Qoli Khan lost the battle and ran away. Eventually he got killed by Turkmens.

Aqa Mohammad Khan stayed at Shiraz with Karim Khan. There are many stories told on how Karim Khan Zand was so kind and benevolent to Aqa Khan and he raised him as a son! These are all biased stories and Anti Qajar Rhetoric. Of course, Karim Khan did not torture and incarcerated Aqa Khan but Aqa Khan was not free to come and go!

At first, Aqa Khan was under house arrest in Karim Khan’s Castle (Arg-e Karim Khan) in Shiraz. Then he was not in jail but he was not allowed to move freely. He was allowed only in the vicinity of the castle. Eventually due to his powerful wisdom, politics and discipline, Karim Khan used him as a political and military advisor. In a way he became Karim Khan’s consultant.

Arg Karim Khan Zand, Shiraz, Iran
Karim Khan Zand Citadel where Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar spent all of his youth as a prisoner! Aqa Khan was officially Karim Khan Zand’s advisor, guest of honor and same as a son but in reality, Aqa Khan was a high-class prisoner in a luxurious palace under the house arrest!

It took years for Aqa Khan to gain Karim Khan’s trust in his court. Still, since the beginning until the end of his residence in Shiraz, Aqa Khan was a prisoner in Arg-e Karim Khan. A prisoner is a prisoner. One can be a prisoner in a jail cell and one can be a prisoner in a palace but the concept is the same!

All his youth was spent as a prisoner of Zand in Shiraz. Any way you hack it, Aqa Mohammad Khan’s youth was under heavy surveillance, security and watchful eyes of the Zand Dynasty. He was a high-class prisoner in a castle. No one granted him to be the consultant to the Emperor but years of hard work, made Karim Khan to trust him. In addition, Aqa Khan was a wise politician, governor and military commander, so his advice was essential to Karim Khan Zand.

All the stories of Karim Khan Zand’s excessive kindness is rubbish. The reality is that Karim Khan saw it cost effective to keep Aqa Khan near him as a consultant than to let him go to become an adversary or to kill him. Karim Khan made a calculated move. Besides, it would be a big mistake for Karim Khan to murder the earl of Qajar and make a martyr of him!

Historians often ask what was the cause of Aqa Mohammad Khan’s Frightful Rage? Where did all this rage come from? The answer is very simple:

Reasons Behind Aqa Mohammad Khan’s Legendary Rage
__________________________________________________I. CastrationHe was castrated by a “Fair Man”!
Castration by the Afshar Dynasty, by the hands of a man named “Fair” (Adel Shah Afshar)! Aqa Khan was only a child when Afshars painfully castrated him and took away his testicles, so he could never reproduce, feel passion, or have desire for eroticism.

II. Not Elected as the Tribal Leader due to CastrationHe was undermined and stepped on by the “Great Men”!
Skipped aside, not elected and looked down at by the Qajar Elites named “Great” Men (Bozorgan-e Qajar)! He was betrayed and looked down upon by his own tribe! As the older son and the earl, he was not elected as the tribal leader because he was a Eunuch! They made him pay for the crimes of Afshar which was done to him!

III. House Arrest by Karim KhanHe was prisoned during all his youth by a “Kind Man”!
Like a Broken-Hearted imprisoned bird, he was a high-class prisoner in a castle, due to the wishes of a “Kind” Man (Karim Khan Zand)! Traditional Historians can sugar coat it any which way they can and refer to him during this period as a guest, advisor, Vazir, prime minister and son to Karim Khan but the reality is that he was a bird in the cage but his cage was a massive castle of Karim Khan Zand!

Why he was the owner of massive rage attacks? The so-called historians of Anti Qajar both Pahlaviist and IRI Scholars say that he had a complex (Oqdeh)! Let’s see, wouldn’t you have psychological disorders:

* If you were painfully castrated as a child by the hands of a “Fair Man”?

* If you were stepped on like dirt and skipped aside as a tribal leader by the will of the “Great Men”?

* If you were imprisoned all your youth by the order of a “Kind Man”?

All of these “Great Men” psychologically scarred Aqa Khan for life! Since early age, Aqa Khan learned that it is him and him alone against the world! Once he took control and become powerful, he went overboard and been excessive in his methods of war and punishment. In a way, he was taking revenge from the world who destroyed him, but fortunately he took this revenge from the separatists and enemies of Iran!

Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar, the Last Shahanshah of the Persian Colonial Empire

Aqa Khan respected and taken care of the troops. His respect and admiration for military and troops were sky high. He was a brave commander, great strategist and a wise tactician. He was always leading at least one of his armies. He was a fierce warrior. Aqa Mohammad Khan lived by the sword and died by the sword!

Aqa Mohammad Khan was waiting for Karim Khan to die (1779) because as soon as he died, Aqa Khan escaped from Shiraz (Capital of Zand) and reached Mazandaran (his home). He made coalitions with some branches of the Qajar Tribes. Next, Aqa Khan raided the Tax Wagon which was transferring Mazandaran’s tax money to Shiraz and captured the money so he could fund his rebellion. At this point he claimed the Persian Throne and made it clear that he wants to be the Persian Emperor. Ironically a number of his half brothers resisted against him and remained faithful to the Zand Government in Shiraz.

Chaos spread all over Iran. Amongst Aqa Khan’s brothers, Reza Qoli Khan and Morteza Qoli Khan took arms against him. Jaffar Qoli Khan and Mustafa Qoli Khan stood by him. Reza Qoli Khan even arrested him at the wholesale fruit and vegetable market but other brothers and followers helped him escape. The battle between Qajar brothers lasted 4 years.

At the same time there was chaos in Shiraz. Finally, Ali Morad Khan Zand overcome his other Zand rivals and princes, he took control of Shiraz and restored his reign (1782 - 1785).

Ali Morad Khan Zand has sent an Afghan Army under his rule to Mazandaran to defeat Aqa Mohammad Khan. Reza Qoli Khan Qajar also invaded Babol. Morteza Qoli Khan Qajar also had the backing of Ali Morad Khan Zand and Sadeq Khan Zand. As I stated, the battle between brothers lasted 4 years until the two traitor brothers escaped Aqa Khan. Reza Qoli Khan escaped to Khorasan.

Qajar Persian Imperial Artillery Soldier (left) and Officer (right)
Late 18 Century – Early 19 Century

Morteza Qoli Khan escaped to Tsarist Russian Empire and put himself under the protection of Catherine II the Great Empress of Russia (1762 - 1796). This event was the first spark of conflict between Aqa Mohammad Khan and Catherine the Great. Finally, Aqa Mohammad Khan won the battle between the Qajar Brothers. Eventually later on, Aqa Khan captured Mazandaran, Semnan and Gilan.

Catherine the Great was interested to build a trade root deep into Asia; therefore, on 1781 she sent a group of diplomats and military to Astarabad (Gorgan) led by Marco Ivanovich Voinovich. The plan was to build a trading post and base on Ashraf. Aqa Mohammad Khan have never forgot nor forgiven Catherine for allowing refuge to his brother Morteza Qoli Khan in Russia, so he simply refused the proposition. Russians ignored Aqa Khan’s order and built a settlement and base on Ashuradeh Island in Caspian Sea (south east). At the time, Aqa Khan had not conquered the complete Iran nor he was in command of the Caspian Sea Persian Fleet; therefore, he could not conduct a naval attack, so he used treachery and tricked the Russians into a meeting. After Voinovich and his men arrived to Astarabad, they were arrested and held hostage until Voinovich ordered his men to evacuate Ashuradeh Island.

Qajar Persian Imperial Navy Battleship, Persian Gulf, Iran – 18 Century
When Aqa Mohammad Shah took control, Persian Fleet both in Caspian Sea (north), Persian Gulf and Oman Gulf (south) was depleted and in chaos. In short years, he organized and revived the Persian Navy. Primarily he was purchasing ships from the British, afterwards, he built them in Iran. In short years, Persian Navy took control and suppressed the Turkmen Piracy (Caspian Sea) and Arab Piracy (Persian Gulf). Persian Navy become a formidable force to the point that the Russians (Caspian Sea) and the British (Persian Gulf) seized their aggression in Persian waters. Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar created the first modern powerful navy of the Post-Islamic Persia, since Nader Shah the Great of Afsharid’s Glorious Navy.

The year after, Aqa Khan with the help of his worthy commander Jaffar Qoli Khan (his brother) conquered Gilan, Zanjan, Qazvin and Northern Iraq. At this point, Ali Morad Khan Zand sent another army to crush Aqa Khan but Jaffar Qoli Khan wo was a great commander, defeated also this army in Ray and then captured Karaj, sieged Tehran (1783) and at last conquered it.

After this event a great army put together by Zand and sent to take over Mazandaran. The Zand army sieged Astarabad but Aqa Khan had already pre-planned the defense of Astarabad and foreseen the possible Zand siege! He burned the Zand supplies out of town, did not allow them to capture more local supplies and damaged their siege. The Zand siege broke down and Aqa Khan then attacked the Zand army out of town. One after another Babol, Sari and then complete Mazandaran were freed from the Zand army and they were pushed to the desert where they escaped and only a few had survived.

After Ali Morad Khan Zand, Jaffar Khan (1785 - 1789) reigned but Iran was still in chaos. Zand aristocracy where fighting amongst themselves and so were Qajars. In addition, there were other players like Afghans who also wanted to take control. When Jaffar Khan Zand came to power, Aqa Khan was already controlling a vast area of Iran but at the end of Jaffar Khan Zand’s era, Aqa Khan basically established controlling the majority of the Iranian states. During Jaffar Khan Zand, many campaigns were conducted against Aqa Khan but one by one, Aqa Khan defeated the Zand armies and conquered and reconquered Tehran, Esfahan, Kashan, Zanjan, Gilan and the complete Iraq. Jaffar Khan Zand and his generals were no match for Aqa Mohammad Khan. Jaffar Khan was never a heavy weight to challenge Aqa Khan and he was defeated time after time and lost many territories to Aqa Khan. Jaffar Khan had a conflict with some Zand Aristocrats and jailed them, so they colluded and killed him. Then they appointed Morad Khan as the Emperor.

Haj Ebrahim Khan Kalantar Shirazi was a powerful Jewish Aristocrat during the Zand Reign who aided Qajar to gain power and rule Iran. Haj Ebrahim basically made his fortune and gained his power during the reign of Karim Khan Zand. Haj Ebrahim was very wise and a great politician. He was appointed by Karim Khan as the Kalantar (Sheriff) of Fars Province. Shiraz was the capital of Fars (Pars), so naturally Haj Ebrahim was very influential in Shiraz. Haji means pilgrim so naturally he was a Jewish Haji. Primarily he aided Lotf Ali Khan to enter Shiraz but once Lotf Ali Khan did not display any trace that he has the power to govern and organization to rule, then he switched to Aqa Mohammad Khan’s side. Haji Ebrahim believed that Lotf Ali Khan was too immature to reign. In nature, Haji Ebrahim was always pro Aqa Khan because he considered Aqa Khan a wise politician, a disciplined organizer, a skillful administrator, a fierce warrior, a grand military strategist and a brutally powerful ruler. Aqa Mohammad Khan was Haj Ebrahim’s favorite candidate to save Iran from chaos by becoming the Emperor. Afterwards, Haj Ebrahim was nominated as Aqa Khan’s Grand Vazir (Prime Minister).

Haj Ebrahim Kalantar (Grand Vazir) with Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar (Shahanshah) at Shiraz
Haj Ebrahim Kalantar was a major factor for the creation of the Qajar Dynasty
Haj Ebrahim Kalantar aided Aqa Khan and later was rewarded to become his Grand Vazir
Qajar Persian Miniature Painting

Lotf Ali Khan was 20-year-old when he took over control after his father, Jaffar Khan’s death. When Jaffar Khan murdered, Lotf Ali Khan knew that story of Shiraz is over! At the time he was in Kerman (Zand Dynasty were originally from Kerman), so he charged towards Bushehr at Persian Gulf shores to gather an army. With the help of Haj Ebrahim Kalantar, he entered Shiraz and killed Morad Khan Zand (his own family). Lotf Ali Khan Zand was a handsome man, a brave man and a warrior; however, politically he was not wise and he was not a man of governing and reigning with politics. Once he captured Shiraz, he sieged Kerman for no reason but spite, because Kerman was already promised to support him, but he wanted to solve some old bad blood so he surrounded Kerman.

Lotf Ali Khan behaved so immaturely and he also undermined and hurt Haj Ebrahim’s feelings. Once Lotf Ali Khan moved towards Esfahan, Haj Ebrahim arrested all of his allies and created a militia to control Shiraz. Once in charge of Shiraz, Haj Ebrahim contacted his brother (via messenger) who was amongst the Lotf Ali Khan’s army and informed him of the plot. Lotf Ali Khan was planning to battle the Qajar Army under the command of Baba Khan (later Fath Ali Shah Qajar) nephew of Aqa Mohammad Khan near Qamsheh but once Haj Ebrahim’s brother completed the plot, Zand Army scattered and left Lotf Ali Khan alone! So Lotf Ali Khan backed off from Esfahan and moved towards Shiraz with a small group of men. He surrounded Shiraz. At this point Haj Ebrahim threatened the small group of men around the Lotf Ali Khan to abandon him or else he would arrest heir families in Shiraz and torture them! So, the men abandoned Lotf Ali Khan. Now with only a few men around him, Lotf Ali Khan dropped the siege of Shiraz and charged to the Port of Rig (Bushehr Province) on the Persian Gulf (1791).

Once in Rig, Lotf Ali Khan gathered an army, defeated Bushehr’s Sheikh and again surrounded Shiraz. He did not have much cannons, guns or ammunition. Haj Ebrahim disarmed the pro Zand tribes inside and around Shiraz. Haj Ebrahim sent a messenger for Aqa Mohammad Khan and encouraged him to capture Shiraz. Aqa Khan sent Mustafa Qoli Khan (his brother) with an army to Shiraz. That great army was defeated by the inferior army of Lotf Ali Khan. This turn, Aqa Khan sent Reza Qoli Khan (his brother) with a greater army to Shiraz. This army combined with the left over from the other army and together battled Lotf Ali Khan; however, once again Lotf Ali Khan defeated this new army and arrested Reza Qoli Khan Qajar.

Lotf Ali Khan pushed the limit of Aqa Khan’s patience. Aqa Khan with over 30,000 fully armed and well-resourced men charged towards Shiraz, leading the army himself. Despite the numbers, with a very small number of men in his army, Lotf Ali Khan charged to the center of the Qajar army and pushed forwards the Aqa Mohammad Khan’s tent. One of his generals (either due to ignorance or treason) stated that Aqa Khan has escaped, so they better stop before they lose more men due to pointless battle. If Lotf Ali Khan was not stopped due to this advice, then he would have captured Aqa Khan that night! In the morning, it was too late and Lotf Ali Khan found out that Aqa Khan did not escape and he was right there! Right in the center of Aqa Khan’s troops, Lotf Ali Khan was surrounded, so he escaped the battle, retreated and charged to Kerman to gather a new army (1792).

Aqa Khan captured Shiraz and then Kerman, so the small army around Lotf Ali Khan scattered and ran away. Lotf Ali Khan once more escaped to fight another day. He went to Tabas, Khorasan where the Tabas Governor handed him 200 men. He charged to Yazd where he defeated Ali Naqi’s pro Qajar army. Everywhere he went, he gathered more men and by the time he took control of Abarqu, he had 1,500 men. He moved towards Darabgard and sieged the town but due to the number of Qajar troops, he failed and retreated back to Tabas. Back in Khorasan, he made alliances and together they attacked and took control of Kerman. At this point, Lotf Ali Khan named himself the Shah!

Aqa Mohammad Khan was truly amazed by the persistence and bravery of Lotf Ali Khan. In a way he admired his aggressiveness but he simply had to put an end to the Zand Dynasty, so Aqa Mohammad Khan with a massive army, once again charged towards Kerman. He sieged Kerman for 4 months. A group of Lotf Ali Khan troops surrendered and allowed 3,000 Qajar troops to enter the town. With sheer force and battle to death, Lotf Ali Khan kicked the Qajar troops out of the castle and citadel. Finally, one of Lotf Ali Khan’s Generals named Najaf Qoli Khan betrayed him and opened the gates of Kerman to the Qajar troops. 12,000 Qajar troops rushed the city and others surrounded it. Lotf Ali Khan fought to the last man while many of his troops surrendered. Aqa Khan ordered to surround the city so Lotf Ali Khan would not escape. Lotf Ali Khan with a small group of his followers fought back and forth until the dusk, hide and seek, and finally escaped to Normashir, Kerman Province.

While Aqa Khan was praising his worthy enemy, yet he was fed up with his hide and seek. Due to refuging Lotf Ali Khan and aiding him, Aqa Khan handed the wives of many Kermanis to his troops, arrested many of their children and took them away, blinded so many of the fighting men faithful to Zand and massacred thousands of Zand Warriors. Qajar troops beheaded so many of Zand tribe and locals that rivers of blood ran through town and they built tall minarets from these beheaded heads. Aqa Khan wanted to make a final example and to teach a lesson to all pro Zand locals to never ever again defy Qajars.

Aqa Mohammad Shah at the Siege and Sack of Kerman
Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar Battles Lotf Ali Khan Zand at Kerman
Heads are rolling, women on horseback are taken as concubines and Kerman is leveled
An example was made at Kerman for the high price of defying Qajars
Qajar Persian Miniature Painting

Once Lotf Ali Khan entered Normashir, the local mayor primarily greeted him but soon worried about his well being and Aqa Khan’s revenge, so he betrayed him. Lotf Ali Khan’s followers urged him to escape but he didn’t, so they left him and scattered. All alone, Lotf Ali Khan stayed in Normashir until the local mayor sent troops to arrest him. Lotf Ali Khan fought bravely until his horse got injured and died and even then, he fought tooth and nail but he was overwhelmed and arrested. He was sent to Aqa Khan.

Aqa Mohammad Khan ordered his troops to build so many tall minarets from the beheaded heads of the locals in Bam and Normashir. Aqa Mohammad Khan faced Lotf Ali Khan and stated that it is not personal and as a matter of fact, he admires his bravery and aggressiveness; however, there is one country and two kings! One must go! Aqa Mohammad Khan personally took Lotf Ali Khan’s eyes out and sent him to Tehran to be incarcerated. In Tehran, after much torture and sexual abuse, they finally tortured him to death. That was the end of Zand Dynasty.

Aqa Mohammad Shah Qajar, the Last Persian Emperor
Shahanshah of the Persian Colonial Empire 18 Century

A few important events occurred during the Lotf Ali Khan’s hit and run era. While Aqa Khan focused on Azerbaijan, he left the Iraq to be governed by Baba Khan Qajar (Fath Ali Khan). Aqa Khan captured the complete Azerbaijan and subdued the rebels (1791 - 1792).